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Chapter 103: Decisions, decisions
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Diagnosis: Love Chapter 104: Unexpected visitor
DEACONI'd grown up in the country and was accustomed to the noises of the farm. Bugs chirping, crickets singing, frogs croaking, the groan of tree branches in the wind-I was used to all of those sounds. When I went away to college and then med school and then my residency in Gainesville, I'd learned to live with the city's soundtrack: honking cars, the air brakes on buses, and people shouting in the street. Living in the town of Harper Springs was some kind of happy medium, I decided as I sat in the dark of my living room, shaking the glass in my hand to hear the ice clink. I had the bugs and crickets from the farm along with the distant noise of cars and the occasional siren. Tonight, even though my windows were shut and the air conditioning was humming, I could hear the sound of a baseball game. My next-door neighbor was an older gentleman who liked to sit on his front porch and listen to the games on his ancient radio. Since he was more than slightly hard of hearing, he had that
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 105: One more for my baby
DEACONI rose to my feet abruptly. "I need another drink." Emma drained her glass and rattled the ice. "I wouldn't say no to a refill, either." I was about to turn back to retrieve her empty glass, but she'd gotten to her feet, too, and was following me across the room. I could feel the heat radiating from her body as I poured our drinks. As much as I tried to ignore her effect on me, she was slowly and steadily destroying my paltry defenses. "Do you want anything to eat?" I almost babbled the question, just out of the need to say something that didn't sound sexual. And yet, even that . . . Emma stood next to me, her gaze dipping down to below my waist before she raised her eyes to me. The molten softness of her lips was nearly my undoing. Slowly, she shook her head. "No, thanks. I'm okay." We both returned to our seats, keeping our distance as if by taciturn agreement. Once Emma was curled in the corner of the sofa again, her drink in her hand, she cleared her throat. "
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 106: I'm not leaving
DEACONI framed her face with one hand. "I'm not going to leave you." Her eyelids lowered, and her tongue slipped out to swipe over her lips. "Again." "I'm staying here. With you. For you, Emma. I'm not going to run away again, babe." She lifted her face. "Now tell me again . . . but don't use words this time." I didn't have to be asked twice. Reaching down, I lifted Emma up to my lap, angling her head so that it rested in the crook of my elbow. With my fingers on her chin, I coaxed her to tip her mouth to me. The last time I'd kissed Emma had been the night we'd celebrated the publication of her study about ventilators and acupuncture. We'd had champagne, and I'd been giddy enough to breach the walls she'd kept up since I'd returned from Slovenia. But that night, Noah had still been in the picture. Oh, they hadn't been dating yet, but I'd known the direction he was heading. That kiss had been stolen, a moment of time that couldn't go anywhere. But tonight, everything was
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 107: Good morning, sunshine
EMMAMy first conscious thought the next morning was that my air conditioner wasn't working. For one head-spinning moment, I panicked, thinking I was back at the trailer, and everything that had happened in the last eighteen months-my cabin, Noah, Deacon-was all a dream. But after I blinked my eyes open, I realized that the air wasn't warm or muggy the way it was when I was in a building that didn't have a/c. No, it was just that there was something next to me that was emitting a crazy amount of heat. When that something moved slightly and sighed, I remembered. Oh. My. God. I shifted my legs and winced a little. I was slightly sore; Deacon and I hadn't exactly taken it easy on each other last night. Or early this morning, for that matter. We'd more than made up for the year or so we'd been apart. The whole thing had been . . . different. Oh, there was a wonderful familiarity, that easiness of being with a man who'd been a lover before. I'd fallen back into the rhythm easily,
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 108: Busted
EMMA"Hey!" I tried for a casual, carefree smile. "What're you doing here? Did we have plans that I forgot about?" He chuckled and met me halfway, leaning down to kiss my cheek and then sweep me into a hug. "No, this was a random drop-in. I have to be at the hospital later today, so I thought I'd drive over early and see if I could take you to breakfast on the way in." He slid me a sideways glance as we walked up the porch steps together. "Imagine my surprise when you weren't here at seven in the morning." "Oh?" I didn't owe Noah any explanation, I scolded myself silently. We weren't dating, and I was a free woman. It wasn't any of his business-except that he was Noah, my friend, the one in whom I'd confided almost everything for a long time. It felt weird not to tell him. But maybe it would be weirder to tell him. Or maybe I'd just-"I called the hospital to see if you'd gone in early, but they told me you weren't supposed to be there until this afternoon." "Yeah, I worked lat
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 109: Busted, part 2
DEACONWhen I walked into the hospital about an hour after Emma left my house that morning, I definitely was feeling lighter than I had all week. The problems I'd left here the day before hadn't gone away-at least, I assumed that Ted was still in his room, trying to terrorize my staff-but I had a better outlook on everything in my world.Amazing what getting laid can do for a man.It wasn't just the sex, though thank you sweet Jesus for that because it had been incredible. No, I decided, it was mostly the reconnection with Emma, talking with her and feeling as if we'd finally managed to bridge that break that I'd created when I'd taken off for Slovenia. Suddenly, the future held more possibilities than it had for over a year. I'd just gotten to my office and shrugged off my suit jacket when Mira knocked at the open door. "Good morning, Deacon." Our head nurse was holding a steaming cup of coffee in her hand as she lingered in the doorway. "Hey, there, Mira!" I grinned at her.
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 110: Family reunion
DEACONAfter my conversation with Noah, I was both eager and apprehensive about seeing Emma. I wondered if she would pretend last night hadn't happened, if she was having regrets, or if she'd be embarrassed or . . . whatever. Women were so damn unpredictable. I wasn't sure what to expect. As it worked out, though, our paths didn't cross until later in the afternoon. We had a minor issue with a patient reacting to new meds, and that kept me busy for a couple of hours. And then Gram and Pop showed up to see Ted. I ushered them into his room, already braced for whatever vitriol he might spew at them. Gram was clutching her handbag tight, the only indication of her own tension, and Pop's jaw was hard. "Ted." I stepped into the room ahead of my grandparents. "My-uh, your parents are here to see you. Is it all right if they come in?" I hated giving him the option to turn them away, but Emma had taught me well, and I knew that giving someone a choice was always preferable whenever poss
Diagnosis: Love Chapter 111: Probably
EMMABy the time the sun went down that evening, tests had confirmed that Ted Girard was fighting off a massive infection. It had happened fast, but that wasn't unusual, not in someone whose cancer was as advanced as Ted's was. "All we can do now is treat what we can and keep him comfortable." Deacon stood next to his father's bedside, staring down at the slight figure. Ted had been non-responsive since his seizure, but the CT hadn't shown any visible brain damage. "What do you think?" I glanced up at Deacon's face as we moved into the hall. "What are his chances?" Deacon shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not great. But Ted's an enigma. If I expect him to die tonight, he'd probably pull through just to prove me wrong." He sighed and shook his head. "Will you think I'm a horrible person if I say I'm really disappointed that I'll have to take a raincheck on tonight? Ted's got crap timing. Always has." I laughed softly. "No. You're allowed to have mixed feelings about this man, D
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